Sensing screen, control circuit and control method thereof, and sensing screen apparatus

ABSTRACT

A sensing screen, a control circuit and control method thereof, and a sensing screen apparatus are provided. The sensing screen includes a display screen, a first transparent medium layer, a transparent connection layer, and an antenna layer. The antenna layer includes multiple antenna units, and the antenna units include at least one first antenna unit and multiple second antenna units. The first antenna unit is configured to transmit a sensing signal, the second antenna units are configured to receive reflected signals of the sensing signal, and the reflected signals are generated by a touch object by reflecting the sensing signal. According to the present application, the antenna layer is arranged right above the display screen, so that a touch area of the sensing screen is fully utilized while screen display is not affected, so as to substantially increase an antenna size and increase an antenna gain.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/374,072, filed on Dec. 9, 2016, which is a continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2014/079647, filed on Jun. 11, 2014.All of the afore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporatedby reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present application relate to the field of wirelesscommunications, and in particular, to a sensing screen, a controlcircuit and control method thereof, and a sensing screen apparatus.

BACKGROUND

With the development of wireless communications technologies, emergingapplication scenarios and demands constantly come into being in largenumbers, and radio access networks also develop towards largecapacities, millimeter waves, multiple bands, and the like. An antennaof a conventional mobile terminal or portable device based onlow-frequency communications technologies can implement omnidirectionalcoverage, and a gain of the antenna is usually about 2 dBi. However, fora mobile terminal or portable device based on high-frequencycommunications technologies, because a transmission loss of thehigh-frequency communications technologies is relatively large, in orderto meet requirements of communication within a distance, an antenna sizeneeds to be increased to increase an antenna gain. It is estimated thatan antenna gain of a mobile terminal or portable device needs to reachgreater than 10 dBi in a millimeter-wave application, and the antennagain even needs to reach 25-30 dBi in some application scenarios.

In the prior art, a mobile terminal or portable device that has a touchdisplay function is provided. The mobile terminal or portable device isbased on conventional low-frequency communications technologies andincludes a touch display screen, a touchscreen sensing unit, a lightemitting part, an antenna, and a transparent conductive material. Thetouch display screen, the touchscreen sensing unit, and the lightemitting part jointly occupy a touchscreen area of the mobile terminalor portable device. The transparent conductive material is placed in apart of the touchscreen area. The antenna is mainly placed in anon-touch-screen area, and a part of the antenna is placed around thetransparent conductive material.

During implementation of the present application, the inventor findsthat the prior art has at least the following problems:

A conventional mobile terminal or portable device has a relatively lowrequirement on an antenna gain, an antenna and a touch display screencan be arranged in different locations of the mobile terminal orportable device, and arrangement requirements of the touch displayscreen and the antenna can be completely met. However, in amillimeter-wave wireless communications system that uses high-frequencycommunications technologies, the millimeter-wave wireless communicationssystem has a significantly increased requirement on the antenna gain,and therefore an antenna size (or a physical aperture) increases.Moreover, due to a consideration on a visual effect, if a size of themobile terminal or portable device is limited, a size of the touchdisplay screen of the mobile terminal or portable device becomesincreasingly large, an area available for the antenna becomesincreasingly small, and a touchscreen area of the mobile terminal orportable device cannot be efficiently utilized.

SUMMARY

In order to resolve the foregoing problems in the prior art, embodimentsof the present application provide a sensing screen, a control circuitand control method thereof, and a sensing screen apparatus. Thetechnical solutions are as follows:

According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present applicationprovides a sensing screen, where the sensing screen includes a displayscreen, a first transparent medium layer, a transparent connectionlayer, and a transparent antenna layer, where the first transparentmedium layer is sandwiched between the connection layer and the antennalayer, and the connection layer is sandwiched between the firsttransparent medium layer and the display screen; and

the antenna layer includes multiple antenna units, and the multipleantenna units include at least one first antenna unit and multiplesecond antenna units, where the first antenna unit is configured totransmit a sensing signal, and the second antenna units are configuredto receive reflected signals of the sensing signal, where the reflectedsignals are generated by a touch object by reflecting the sensingsignal, or the first antenna unit and the second antenna units areconfigured to simultaneously transmit or receive a communication signal,and the multiple second antenna units are interspersed with the firstantenna unit.

According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present applicationprovides a control circuit of a sensing screen, configured to controlthe sensing screen according to the first aspect, where the controlcircuit includes an adjustment module and a control module, theadjustment module is controlled by the control module to adjust asensing signal, reflected signals, and a communication signal, thecontrol module is further configured to determine a location of a touchobject according to the adjusted sensing signal and reflected signals,and the adjustment module is electrically connected to the sensingscreen and the control module separately.

According to a third aspect, an embodiment of the present applicationprovides a sensing screen apparatus, where the sensing screen apparatusincludes the sensing screen according to the first aspect and a controlapparatus, where the control apparatus includes a housing and thecontrol circuit according to the second aspect, the control circuit isdisposed in the housing, and the control circuit is connected to thesensing screen by using the housing.

The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the presentapplication have the following beneficial effects:

An antenna layer made of a transparent material, a transparentconnection layer, a first transparent medium layer, and a display screenare used to make a sensing screen, and the antenna layer is arrangedright above the display screen, so that a touch area of the sensingscreen is fully utilized while screen display is not affected, so as tosubstantially increase an antenna size and increase an antenna gain. Inaddition, a first antenna unit transmits a sensing signal, secondantenna units receive reflected signals of the sensing signal, and alocation corresponding to a touch object is determined according to thereflected signals, so as to implement a sensing function without addingextra costs, thereby reducing costs and achieving use convenience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the presentapplication more clearly, the following briefly describes theaccompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments.Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description showmerely some embodiments of the present application, and a person ofordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from theseaccompanying drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a sensing screen accordingto Embodiment 1 of the present application;

FIG. 1a is a schematic structural diagram of an antenna layer accordingto Embodiment 1 of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a sensing screen accordingto Embodiment 2 of the present application;

FIG. 2a is a schematic diagram of a uniform antenna array arrangementmanner according to Embodiment 2 of the present application;

FIG. 2b is a schematic diagram of a non-uniform antenna arrayarrangement manner according to Embodiment 2 of the present application;

FIG. 2c is a schematic diagram of a radiation direction of an antennaaccording to Embodiment 2 of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a control circuit accordingto Embodiment 3 of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a control circuit accordingto Embodiment 4 of the present application;

FIG. 4a is a schematic structural diagram of an adjustment unitaccording to Embodiment 4 of the present application;

FIG. 4b is a schematic structural diagram of a radio frequency front-endchannel according to Embodiment 4 of the present application;

FIG. 4c is a schematic structural diagram of a frequency conversion unitaccording to Embodiment 4 of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a control method according to Embodiment 5 ofthe present application;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a control method according to Embodiment 6 ofthe present application;

FIG. 6a is a schematic diagram of a locating algorithm of a sensingscreen according to Embodiment 6 of the present application; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a sensing screen apparatusaccording to Embodiment 7 of the present application.

FIG. 7a is another schematic structural diagram of a sensing screenapparatus according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention;

FIG. 7b is another schematic structural diagram of a sensing screenapparatus according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention;

FIG. 7c is another schematic structural diagram of a sensing screenapparatus according to Embodiment 7 of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of thepresent application clearer, the following further describes theembodiments of the present application in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1

This embodiment of the present application provides a sensing screen.Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 1a , the sensing screen includes a displayscreen 1, a connection layer 2, a transparent antenna layer 3, and afirst transparent medium layer 4. The first transparent medium layer 4is sandwiched between the connection layer 2 and the antenna layer 3,and the connection layer 2 is sandwiched between the first transparentmedium layer 4 and the display screen 1. The antenna layer 3 includesmultiple antenna units 31, and the multiple antenna units 31 include atleast one first antenna unit 311 and multiple second antenna units 312.An antenna of the first antenna unit 311 is configured to transmit asensing signal, and antennas of the second antenna units 312 areconfigured to receive reflected signals of the sensing signal, where thereflected signals are generated by a touch object by reflecting thesensing signal. Alternatively, the first antenna unit 311 and the secondantenna units 312 are all configured to simultaneously transmit orreceive a communication signal. The multiple second antenna units 312are interspersed with the first antenna unit 311.

When the first antenna unit 311 and the second antenna units 312 areconfigured to generate a communication signal, for example, when amobile phone to which the sensing screen is applied is on a call, thefirst antenna unit 311 may be construed as the second antenna unit 312.When the antenna of the first antenna unit 311 is configured to transmita sensing signal, and the antennas of the second antenna units 312 areconfigured to receive reflected signals of the sensing signal, thesensing screen may be used as a non-contact display screen of aterminal.

According to this embodiment of the present application, an antennalayer made of a transparent material, a transparent connection layer, afirst transparent medium layer, and a display screen are used to make asensing screen, and the antenna layer is arranged right above thedisplay screen, so that a touch area of the sensing screen is fullyutilized while screen display is not affected, so as to substantiallyincrease an antenna size and increase an antenna gain. In addition, afirst antenna unit transmits a sensing signal, second antenna unitsreceive reflected signals of the sensing signal, and a locationcorresponding to a touch object is determined according to the reflectedsignals, so as to implement a sensing function without adding extracosts, thereby reducing costs and achieving use convenience.

Embodiment 2

This embodiment of the present application provides a sensing screen.Referring to FIG. 2, the sensing screen includes a display screen 1, atransparent connection layer 2, a transparent antenna layer 3, and afirst transparent medium layer 4. The first transparent medium layer 4is sandwiched between the connection layer 2 and the antenna layer 3,and the connection layer 2 is sandwiched between the first transparentmedium layer 4 and the display screen 1. The antenna layer 3 includesmultiple antenna units 31, and the multiple antenna units 31 include atleast one first antenna unit 311 and multiple second antenna units 312.An antenna of the first antenna unit 311 is configured to transmit asensing signal, and antennas of the second antenna units 312 areconfigured to receive reflected signals of the sensing signal, where thereflected signals are generated by a touch object by reflecting thesensing signal. Alternatively, the first antenna unit 311 and the secondantenna units 312 are configured to simultaneously transmit or receive acommunication signal. The multiple second antenna units 312 areinterspersed with the first antenna unit 311.

The display screen 1 may use either an LED (Light Emitting Diode)display screen or an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).

The first transparent medium layer 4 is configured to transmit thesensing signal, the reflected signals, and the communication signal. Thefirst transparent medium layer 4 may use transparent glass or air. Whenthe first transparent medium layer 4 uses air, a medium structure isfurther needed for supporting.

In this embodiment, the connection layer 2 includes a shield layer 21and a ground layer 22 (not shown in the figure). The shield layer 21 isconfigured to shield the antenna layer 3 and return the communicationsignal, the sensing signal, and the reflected signals. The ground layer22 is configured to ground the antenna layer 3. The ground layer 22 maybe a protrusion disposed on the shield layer 21, and the protrusion maybe soldered on a circuit board, so as to implement a grounding function.During implementation, the shield layer 21 and the ground layer 22 maybe made of materials such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide).

In another implementation manner, the shield layer 21 and the groundlayer 22 may also be integrated into one layer.

During implementation, the antenna layer 3 includes multiple antennafeeders 32 that feed the antenna units 31. Referring to FIG. 2b and FIG.2c , the antenna units 31 are arranged uniformly, and each antennafeeder 32 is connected to one antenna unit 31. Alternatively, eachantenna feeder 32 is connected to multiple antenna units 31, anddifferent antenna feeders 32 are connected to different antenna units31.

In this embodiment, referring to FIG. 2a , all the antenna units 31 forman antenna array, a radiation direction of an array formed by someantenna units, that is, antenna units 313, of the antenna array isparallel with the display screen 1, and a radiation direction of anarray formed by the other antenna units, that is, antenna units 314, ofthe antenna array is perpendicular to the display screen 1. Duringimplementation, amplitude and a phase of a signal in each antenna unitmay be adjusted to change a beam direction of the antenna array within acertain range, so as to form a radiation pattern (or an antennadirectivity pattern) that is of the antenna array and that covers theentire display screen. It can be easily understood that, the radiationdirection of the array formed by the antenna units is affected by a typeof the antenna units, a manner of connection between the antenna feedersand the antenna units, and a phase and amplitude of a signal generatedin the antenna units.

The antenna units are made of one or more of ITO, FTO (Fluorine-dopedTin Oxide), ZnO:Al (Aluminum-doped Zinc Oxide), and ZnO:In (Indium-dopedZinc Oxide). During implementation, the antenna units may be low-profileantennas. The low-profile antennas may include one or more of a patchantenna, a slot antenna, a Vivaldi antenna, and a low-profile high-gainvertically polarized omnidirectional antenna.

It should be noted that, in an actual application, in order to bringconvenience for manufacturing of the sensing screen and subsequentcontrol processing, usually all the second antenna units use a same typeof low-profile antennas, for example, patch antennas, and all the firstantenna units use a same type of low-profile antennas, and the firstantenna unit may be the same as or different from the second antennaunits in type.

In this embodiment, the sensing screen further includes a secondtransparent medium layer 5 disposed between the display screen 1 and theconnection layer 2, where the second transparent medium layer 5 may alsouse transparent glass or air. When the second transparent medium layer 5uses air, a medium structure is further needed for supporting.

In this embodiment, the sensing screen may further include a transparentprotective layer 6 that overlies the antenna layer 3, and thetransparent protective layer 6 and the first transparent medium layer 4are located on two sides of the antenna layer 3. During implementation,the transparent protective layer 6 is a thin layer formed by atransparent medium with a relatively low dielectric constant.

According to this embodiment of the present application, an antennalayer made of a transparent material, a transparent connection layer, afirst transparent medium layer, and a display screen are used to make asensing screen, and the antenna layer is arranged right above thedisplay screen, so that a touch area of the sensing screen is fullyutilized while screen display is not affected, so as to substantiallyincrease an antenna size and increase an antenna gain. In addition, afirst antenna unit transmits a sensing signal, second antenna unitsreceive reflected signals of the sensing signal, and a locationcorresponding to a touch object is determined according to the reflectedsignals, so as to implement a sensing function without adding extracosts, thereby reducing costs and achieving use convenience.

Embodiment 3

This embodiment of the present application provides a control circuit ofa sensing screen. The control circuit 30 is configured to control thesensing screens corresponding to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2. Thecontrol circuit 30 includes an adjustment module 301 and a controlmodule 302. The adjustment module 301 is controlled by the controlmodule 302 to adjust a sensing signal, reflected signals, and acommunication signal. The control module 302 is further configured todetermine a location of a touch object according to the adjusted sensingsignal and reflected signals. The adjustment module 301 is electricallyconnected to the sensing screen 10 and the control module 302separately.

According to this embodiment of the present application, an antennalayer made of a transparent material, a transparent connection layer, afirst transparent medium layer, and a display screen are used to make asensing screen, and the antenna layer is arranged right above thedisplay screen, so that a touch area of the sensing screen is fullyutilized while screen display is not affected, so as to substantiallyincrease an antenna size and increase an antenna gain. In addition, afirst antenna unit transmits a sensing signal, second antenna unitsreceive reflected signals of the sensing signal, and a locationcorresponding to a touch object is determined according to the reflectedsignals, so as to implement a sensing function without adding extracosts, thereby reducing costs and achieving use convenience.

Embodiment 4

This embodiment of the present application provides a control circuit ofa sensing screen. The control circuit is configured to control thesensing screens corresponding to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2. Thecontrol circuit 30 includes an adjustment module 40 and a control module50. The adjustment module 40 is controlled by the control module 50 toadjust a sensing signal, reflected signals, and a communication signal.The control module 50 is further configured to determine a location of atouch object according to the adjusted sensing signal and reflectedsignals. The adjustment module 40 is electrically connected to thesensing screen 10 and the control module 50 separately.

In this embodiment, the adjustment module 40 may include an adjustmentunit 401, a radio frequency front-end channel 403, a frequencyconversion unit 404, and a power division and combination unit 405; andthe control module 50 may include a conversion unit 501, a digitalsignal processing unit 502, and a control unit 503.

During implementation, referring to FIG. 4, each antenna unit 103 iscorrespondingly provided with one radio frequency front-end channel 403and one adjustment unit 401, and multiple antenna units 103 areconnected to one frequency conversion unit 404 and one power divisionand combination unit 405. One control unit 503 controls all adjustmentunits 401.

In an implementation manner, the radio frequency front-end channel 403,the adjustment unit 401, the power division and combination unit 405,and the frequency conversion unit 404 are sequentially connected betweenthe sensing screen 10 and the control module 50. In this embodiment,description is provided by using this connection manner as an example.

In another implementation manner, the radio frequency front-end channel403 and the adjustment unit 401, and the frequency conversion unit 404and the power division and combination unit 405 are sequentiallyconnected between the sensing screen 10 and the control module 50.

In still another implementation manner, the radio frequency front-endchannel 403 and the frequency conversion unit 404, and the adjustmentunit 401 and the power division and combination unit 405 aresequentially connected between the sensing screen 10 and the controlmodule 50.

In yet another implementation manner, based on the still anotherimplementation manner, a frequency conversion unit 404 is furtherdisposed between the adjustment unit 401 and the power division andcombination unit 405.

The control unit 503 is electrically connected to a display screen 101in the sensing screen and the adjustment unit 401, and the digitalsignal processing unit 502 is electrically connected to the conversionunit 501 and the control unit 503 separately.

The radio frequency front-end channel 403 is configured to receive thesensing signal, the reflected signals, and the communication signal, andperform standing-wave detection, signal amplification, and filtering onthe sensing signal, the reflected signals, and the communication signal.Specifically, referring to FIG. 4b , the radio frequency front-endchannel 403 may include a standing-wave detection subunit 4031, a signalamplification subunit 4032, and a filtering subunit 4033.

The adjustment unit 401 is configured to adjust amplitude, a phase, or adelay of the sensing signal, the reflected signals, and thecommunication signal. Referring to FIG. 4a , the adjustment unit 401 mayinclude a phase or delay adjustment subunit 4011 and an amplitudeadjustment subunit 4012, so as to adjust the amplitude, the phase, orthe delay of the sensing signal, the reflected signals, and thecommunication signal.

The frequency conversion unit 404 is configured to perform frequencyconversion on the sensing signal, the reflected signals, and thecommunication signal, so as to covert the sensing signal, the reflectedsignals, and the communication signal between a radio frequency signal,an intermediate frequency signal, and a baseband signal. Referring toFIG. 4c , the frequency conversion unit 404 may include a localoscillator 4041, a mixer 4042, a filter 4043, and an amplifier 4044.

The power division and combination unit 405 is configured to performpower division on the sensing signal, perform power combination on thereflected signals, and perform power combination or power division onthe communication signal.

The conversion unit 501 is configured to implement conversion betweenthe sensing signal and a digital signal, between the reflected signalsand digital signals, and between the communication signal and a digitalsignal. The conversion unit 501 includes at least an analog-to-digitalconversion subunit and a digital-to-analog conversion subunit.

The digital signal processing unit 502 is configured to performmodulation and demodulation on the communication signal, the sensingsignal, and the reflected signals, determine power of the reflectedsignals, and determine the location of the touch object according to thereflected signals and the power of the reflected signals. It can beeasily understood that, the digital signal processing unit 502 includesat least a modulation subunit, a demodulation subunit, and a calculationsubunit.

The control unit 503 is configured to control the adjustment unit 401 toperform phase or delay adjustment on a current signal, or control theadjustment unit 401 to perform amplitude adjustment on a current signal.

It should be noted that, the control circuit further includes a serviceprocessing unit 60 configured to perform conversion of a communicationsprotocol. The service processing unit 60 is connected to the digitalsignal processing unit 502.

According to this embodiment of the present application, an antennalayer made of a transparent material, a transparent connection layer, afirst transparent medium layer, and a display screen are used to make asensing screen, and the antenna layer is arranged right above thedisplay screen, so that a touch area of the sensing screen is fullyutilized while screen display is not affected, so as to substantiallyincrease an antenna size and increase an antenna gain. In addition, afirst antenna unit transmits a sensing signal, second antenna unitsreceive reflected signals of the sensing signal, and a locationcorresponding to a touch object is determined according to the reflectedsignals, so as to implement a sensing function without adding extracosts, thereby reducing costs and achieving use convenience.

Embodiment 5

This embodiment of the present application provides a control method ofa sensing screen. The method is used to control the sensing screenscorresponding to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2. The method includes:

Step 501: In a sensing timeslot, control a first antenna unit in asensing screen to transmit a sensing signal, and control second antennaunits to receive reflected signals of the sensing signal, where thereflected signals are generated by a touch object by reflecting thesensing signal.

During implementation, a sensing enabling signal may be generated totrigger an antenna unit to transmit a sensing signal, and to triggeranother antenna unit to monitor a reflected signal of the sensingsignal. The sensing enabling signal is generated by a system of aterminal to which the sensing screen is applied or the foregoing controlcircuit, and is used to complete one sensing operation.

In an actual application, the method may further include:

in a communication timeslot, controlling antenna units in the sensingscreen to simultaneously transmit or receive a communication signal,where the communication timeslot is used to complete one or morecommunication operations; one or more sensing timeslots are inserted inone communication timeslot in a spaced manner or are inserted betweentwo adjacent communication timeslots in a spaced manner; duringimplementation, one or more non-contact sensing operations may becompleted in each communication timeslot in a spaced manner, that is,the sensing enabling signal is generated one or more times in eachcommunication timeslot; or one or more non-contact sensing operationsmay be completed between multiple communication timeslots, that is, thesensing enabling signal is generated one or more times after eachcommunication timeslot.

The touch object includes, but is not limited to, a hand and a stylus.

Step 502: When the reflected signals of the sensing signal are received,determine coordinates of the touch object on a plane on which thesensing screen is located, according to power of the received reflectedsignals and coordinates, of the second antenna units that receive thereflected signals, on the plane.

According to this embodiment of the present application, an antennalayer made of a transparent material, a transparent connection layer, afirst transparent medium layer, and a display screen are used to make asensing screen, and the antenna layer is arranged right above thedisplay screen, so that a touch area of the sensing screen is fullyutilized while screen display is not affected, so as to substantiallyincrease an antenna size and increase an antenna gain. In addition, afirst antenna unit transmits a sensing signal, second antenna unitsreceive reflected signals of the sensing signal, and a locationcorresponding to a touch object is determined according to the reflectedsignals, so as to implement a sensing function without adding extracosts, thereby reducing costs and achieving use convenience.

Embodiment 6

This embodiment of the present application provides a control method ofa sensing screen. The method is used to control the sensing screenscorresponding to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2. The method includes:

Step 601: Randomly select one antenna unit from multiple antenna units,or select one antenna unit with highest frequency of use from multipleantenna units.

During implementation, statistics of a quantity of times each antennaunit is actually used as a first antenna unit may be collected tocollect statistics of frequency of use of each antenna unit.

In this embodiment, the first antenna unit may be switched among themultiple antenna units according to an actual situation. In anotherimplementation manner, one or more fixed antenna units may be used asthe first antenna unit or first antenna units. For example, referring toFIG. 1a , the seventh and the twelfth antenna units counted from left toright and from top to bottom may be used as the first antenna units.

Before step 601, the method further includes: establishing a spatialCartesian coordinate system. During implementation, one arbitraryantenna unit may be selected as an origin of the coordinate system, andthen the coordinate system is established according to a right-handrule. It can be easily understood that, a first antenna unit thattransmits a sensing signal may also be used as the origin of thecoordinate system. In practice, for a case in which each antenna unitacts as the origin, a corresponding coordinate system may be establishedin advance, so as to correspondingly determine coordinates of otherantenna units (that is, second antenna units).

Step 602: In a sensing timeslot, control the selected one antenna unitto transmit a sensing signal.

Step 603: In the sensing timeslot, control second antenna units toreceive reflected signals of the sensing signal, where the reflectedsignals are generated by a touch object by reflecting the sensingsignal.

Step 604: Select four reflected signals with highest power from thereceived reflected signals.

Step 605: Detect whether power of the four selected reflected signalsreaches a set threshold.

When the power of the four selected reflected signals reaches the setthreshold, step 606 is executed, and when power of one reflected signalamong the four selected reflected signals does not reach the setthreshold, step 607 is executed.

Step 606: Determine coordinates of the touch object on a plane accordingto the power of the four selected reflected signals and coordinates offour second antenna units.

As described above, the coordinates of the four second antenna units maybe determined by using the first antenna unit as a coordinate origin.

Referring to FIG. 6a , a specific locating algorithm for determining thecoordinates of the touch object on the plane according to thecoordinates of the four second antenna units with highest power amongthe reflected signals and the power of the reflected signals is asfollows:

The coordinates of the four second antenna units with highest power arerepresented by (x₁, y₁), (x₂, y₂), (x₃, y₃), and (x₄, y₄) respectively,corresponding power of the four second antenna units with highest poweris represented by P_(r1), P_(r2), P_(r3), and P_(r4), respectively, andby obtaining solutions of an equation set formed by equations (1) to(3), the coordinates x and y of the touch object on the plane and adistance z from the touch object to the sensing screen can be obtained.

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{P_{r\; 1}}{P_{r\; 2}} = {\frac{\left( {x - x_{2}} \right)^{2} + \left( {y - y_{2}} \right)^{2} + z^{2}}{\left( {x - x_{1}} \right)^{2} + \left( {y - y_{1}} \right)^{2} + z^{2}}\Lambda\mspace{14mu}\Lambda}} & (1) \\{\frac{P_{r\; 1}}{P_{r\; 3}} = {\frac{\left( {x - x_{3}} \right)^{2} + \left( {y - y_{3}} \right)^{2} + z^{2}}{\left( {x - x_{1}} \right)^{2} + \left( {y - y_{1}} \right)^{2} + z^{2}}\Lambda\mspace{14mu}\Lambda}} & (2) \\{\frac{P_{r\; 1}}{P_{r\; 4}} = {\frac{\left( {x - x_{4}} \right)^{2} + \left( {y - y_{4}} \right)^{2} + z^{2}}{\left( {x - x_{1}} \right)^{2} + \left( {y - y_{1}} \right)^{2} + z^{2}}\Lambda\mspace{14mu}\Lambda}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

In another implementation manner, three antenna units with highest powermay also be selected in step 604, and correspondingly, calculation shallalso be performed in step 605 and step 606 by using the three antennaunits with highest power.

Step 607: Reselect a first antenna unit.

During implementation, by scanning and traversing, the antenna units arechecked one by one for eligibility as the first antenna unit. After thefirst antenna unit is reselected, step 602 is returned to, to startexecution again.

Step 608: Check whether the coordinates of the touch object on the planeexceed an edge of the sensing screen, to obtain a check result, wherewhen the check result is that the coordinates of the touch object on theplane exceed no edge of the sensing screen, step 609 is executed, andwhen the check result is that the coordinates of the touch object on theplane exceed an edge of the sensing screen, step 610 is executed.

Step 609: Generate an operation control instruction according to thecoordinates of the touch object on the plane.

Step 610: Store the coordinates of the touch object on the plane and thecheck result of the coordinates of the touch object on the plane.

The check result herein includes that the coordinates of the touchobject on the plane exceed an edge of the sensing screen and that thecoordinates of the touch object on the plane exceed no edge of thesensing screen.

The coordinates of the touch object on the plane are stored, and whenthe coordinates of the touch object on the plane exceed no edge of thesensing screen, quantities of times of use of the second antenna unitsare increased by one. The frequency of use of each antenna unit isdetermined according to a quantity of times of use of each antenna unit,so as to provide a basis for selecting a first antenna unit next time.

It should be noted that, after the sensing screen is used for a certainperiod of time, for example, one month or three months, the storedcoordinates of the touch object on the plane may further providereference information for a next check. For example, a register or thelike may be used to store effective coordinates of the touch object onthe plane (that is, coordinates of the touch object on the plane thatexceed no edge of the sensing screen) together, and when coordinates ofa current touch object on a plane are calculated, that is, in step 608,the coordinates of the current touch object on the plane may be directlymatched with those in the register, so as to improve sensing speed andreliability.

It can be easily understood that, the coordinates of the touch object onthe plane when the coordinates of the touch object on the plane exceedan edge of the sensing screen are stored, so that determining can beperformed more rapidly when a first antenna unit is selected next timeor at a next check, and therefore the sensing speed and reliability canalso be improved. During implementation, when the coordinates of thetouch object on the plane exceed an edge of the sensing screen, aquantity of sensing errors may further be recorded, and when a value ofa counter reaches a set value, an error warning is sent.

In this embodiment, the method may further include:

according to the coordinates of the touch object on the plane and thedistance from the touch object to the sensing screen, controlling a beamangle generated by the antenna units in a communication timeslot, wherethe touch object is located outside the generated beam angle.

The distance from the touch object to the sensing screen may becalculated in the following manner:

If the four antenna units with highest power are used in step 604, thedistance from the touch object to the sensing screen may be directlyobtained according to the equations (1) to (3) in step 606.

If the three antenna units with highest power are used in step 604, thedistance from the touch object to the sensing screen may be obtainedaccording to time differences between transmitting of the sensing signaland receiving of the reflected signals, propagation speed of the sensingsignal and the reflected signals, and distances between the firstantenna unit that transmits the sensing signal and the second antennaunits that receive the reflected signals.

In this embodiment, the touch object is located outside the generatedbeam angle, that is, no usable beam exists in an area in which the touchobject is located, so as to effectively prevent the touch object that istoo close to the sensing screen or that is in direct contact with thesensing screen from blocking a signal of an antenna unit.

When the touch object is too close to the sensing screen, reflectionperformed by the antenna units may be caused, so that radiationperformance of the antenna units is uncontrolled, and it is difficult toensure radiation safety of the antenna units. That the touch object islocated outside the generated beam angle can effectively prevent ablocking object that is too close to the sensing screen, that is, anon-contact touch object from affecting sensitivity of the antennaunits.

In this embodiment, the method may further include:

separately detecting whether strength of a reflected signal received byeach antenna unit reaches a set threshold; and

closing a communication channel of an antenna unit corresponding to areflected signal that reaches the threshold.

This step may be performed before step 604. The strength of thereflected signal may be power, amplitude, or the like of the reflectedsignal. During implementation, a standing-wave detector may be used todetect the strength of the reflected signal.

Communication channels of the antenna units are usually plannedaccording to a quantity of antenna units and the like during systemdesign. One communication channel may be corresponding to one antennaunit, or one communication channel may be corresponding to multipleantenna units. If one communication channel is corresponding to multipleantenna units, if strength of a reflected signal received by one antennaunit of the multiple antenna units exceeds the set threshold, but nostrength of reflected signals received by the other antenna units of themultiple antenna units exceeds the set threshold, the correspondingcommunication channel also needs to be closed in the communicationtimeslot. However, in a next communication timeslot, a closedcommunication channel is automatically opened, so that the antenna unitsuse the communication channel normally.

During implementation, after a corresponding communication channel of anantenna unit is closed, warning information may further be sent. Thewarning information is used to inform a user that the touch object orthe blocking object is too close to the sensing screen. The warninginformation may be displayed on a display screen, so as to prompt theuser to avoid the problem, thereby improving radiation protection of theantenna units in the sensing screen.

According to this embodiment of the present application, an antennalayer made of a transparent material, a transparent connection layer, afirst transparent medium layer, and a display screen are used to make asensing screen, and the antenna layer is arranged right above thedisplay screen, so that a touch area of the sensing screen is fullyutilized while screen display is not affected, so as to substantiallyincrease an antenna size and increase an antenna gain. In addition, afirst antenna unit transmits a sensing signal, second antenna unitsreceive reflected signals of the sensing signal, and a locationcorresponding to a touch object is determined according to the reflectedsignals, so as to implement a sensing function without adding extracosts, thereby reducing costs and achieving use convenience.

Embodiment 7

This embodiment of the present application provides a sensing screenapparatus. Referring to FIG. 7, the apparatus includes a sensing screen71 corresponding to Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2 and a controlapparatus 72. The control apparatus 72 includes a housing 721 and acontrol circuit 722 that is corresponding to Embodiment 3 and Embodiment4. The control circuit 722 is disposed in the housing 721. The controlcircuit 722 is connected to the sensing screen 71 by using the housing721.

During implementation, the sensing screen 71 may be connected to thecontrol circuit 722 by using a jumper, or a connector, or a slot 721 adisposed on the housing 721. In a manner in which the sensing screen 71is connected to the control circuit 722 by using the slot 721 a disposedon the housing 721, referring to FIG. 7a , a side surface of the sensingscreen 71 is provided with an extended protrusion 711, where theextended protrusion 711 is a conductor, and the conductor may be mountedin the slot 721 a. In a manner in which the sensing screen 71 isconnected to the control circuit 722 by using a jumper 73 or theconnector (not shown in the figure), referring to FIG. 7b and FIG. 7c ,a connecting line 731 is further connected on the sensing screen 71 andthe control circuit 722. Preferably, the sensing screen 71 is connectedto the control circuit 722 by using the slot 721 a disposed on thehousing 721, and this implementation manner is relatively simple, andfacilitates overall integration of the sensing screen and the controlcircuit.

According to this embodiment of the present application, an antennalayer made of a transparent material, a transparent connection layer, afirst transparent medium layer, and a display screen are used to make asensing screen, and the antenna layer is arranged right above thedisplay screen, so that a touch area of the sensing screen is fullyutilized while screen display is not affected, so as to substantiallyincrease an antenna size and increase an antenna gain. In addition, afirst antenna unit transmits a sensing signal, second antenna unitsreceive reflected signals of the sensing signal, and a locationcorresponding to a touch object is determined according to the reflectedsignals, so as to implement a sensing function without adding extracosts, thereby reducing costs and achieving use convenience.

It should be noted that, in the sensing screen apparatus provided by theforegoing embodiment, control of the sensing screen is described only byway of example of division of the foregoing functional modules, and inan actual application, the foregoing functions may be assigned accordingto needs to different functional modules for implementation, that is,the internal structure of the apparatus is divided into differentfunctional modules, so as to implement all or a part of the functionsdescribed above. In addition, the sensing screen apparatus provided bythe foregoing embodiment is based on the same concept as the embodimentof the control method of the sensing screen, and details of the specificimplementation process of the sensing screen apparatus may be referredto the method embodiment, and are not repeated herein.

The sequence numbers of the foregoing embodiments of the presentapplication are merely for illustrative purposes, and are not intendedto indicate priorities of the embodiments.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all or some ofthe steps of the embodiments may be implemented by hardware or a programinstructing related hardware. The program may be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium. The storage medium may include: aread-only memory, a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

The foregoing descriptions are merely exemplary embodiments of thepresent application, but are not intended to limit the presentapplication. Any modification, equivalent replacement, and improvementmade without departing from the spirit and principle of the presentapplication shall fall within the protection scope of the presentapplication.

What is claimed is:
 1. A sensing screen comprising: a display screen; anantenna layer comprising multiple antenna units, wherein the multipleantenna units include at least one first antenna unit configured totransmit a sensing signal and multiple second antenna units configuredto receive reflections of the sensing signal caused by an objecttouching the display screen, and wherein the at least one first antennaunit is configured to transmit the sensing signal in a sensing timeslotand transmit a first communication signal in a communication timeslot;and the multiple second antenna units are configured to receivereflected signals of the sensing signal in the sensing timeslot andreceive a second communication signal in the communication timeslot,wherein one or more sensing timeslots are inserted in one communicationtimeslot in a spaced manner or are inserted between two adjacentcommunication timeslots in a spaced manner, wherein the first and secondcommunication signals are distinct from the sensing and reflectedsignals, and wherein the at least one first antenna unit is selectedfrom among the multiple antenna units based on collected use statisticsand powers of reflected signals received by the multiple second antennaunits.
 2. The sensing screen according to claim 1, wherein the antennalayer comprises multiple antenna feeders configured to feed the antennaunits, each antenna feeder is connected to one antenna unit, or eachantenna feeder is connected to multiple antenna units, and differentantenna feeders are connected to different antenna units.
 3. The sensingscreen according to claim 1, wherein all the antenna units form anantenna array, a radiation direction of an array formed by a part ofantenna units in the antenna array is parallel with the display screen,and a radiation direction of an array formed by the remaining part ofantenna units in the antenna array is perpendicular to the displayscreen.
 4. The sensing screen according to claim 3, wherein the antennaunits are made of one or more of indium tin oxide, fluorine-doped tinoxide, aluminum-doped zinc oxide, and indium-doped zinc oxide.
 5. Thesensing screen according to claim 3, wherein the antenna units arelow-profile antennas, and the low-profile antennas comprise one or moreof a patch antenna, a slot antenna, and a Vivaldi antenna.
 6. Thesensing screen according to claim 1, including a first medium layersandwiched between a connection layer and the antenna layer, wherein theconnection layer is sandwiched between the first medium layer and thedisplay screen, wherein the connection layer comprises a shield layerand a ground layer, wherein the shield layer is configured to shield theantenna layer and return the communication signal, the sensing signal,and the reflected signals, and wherein the ground layer is configured toground the antenna layer.
 7. The sensing screen according to claim 1,further including first and second medium layers, wherein the firstmedium layer is sandwiched between a connection layer and the antennalayer, wherein the connection layer is sandwiched between the firstmedium layer and the display screen, and wherein the second medium layeris disposed between the display screen and the connection layer.
 8. Thesensing screen according to claim 1, further including a first mediumlayer and a protective layer that overlies the antenna layer, and theprotective layer and the first medium layer are located on two sides ofthe antenna layer.
 9. A control circuit of a sensing screen configuredto control the sensing screen, which comprises a display screen, and anantenna layer comprising multiple antenna units, wherein the multipleantenna units include at least one first antenna unit configured totransmit a sensing signal and multiple second antenna units configuredto receive reflections of the sensing signal caused by an objecttouching the display screen, and wherein the at least one first antennaunit is configured to transmit the sensing signal in a sensing timeslotand transmit a first communication signal in a communication timeslot;the multiple second antenna units are configured to receive reflectedsignals of the sensing signal in the sensing timeslot and receive asecond communication signal in the communication timeslot, wherein oneor more sensing timeslots are inserted in one communication timeslot ina spaced manner or are inserted between two adjacent communicationtimeslots in a spaced manner, wherein the first and second communicationsignals are distinct from the sensing and reflected signals, wherein theat least one first antenna unit is selected from among the multipleantenna units based on collected use statistics and powers of reflectedsignals received by the multiple second antenna units, wherein thecontrol circuit comprises an adjustment circuit section and a controlcircuit section, and wherein the adjustment circuit section iscontrolled by the control circuit section to adjust the sensing signal,the reflected signals, and a communication signal; and the controlcircuit section is further configured to determine a location of a touchobject according to the adjusted sensing signal and reflected signals,and the adjustment circuit section is electrically connected to thesensing screen and the control circuit section separately.
 10. Thecontrol circuit according to claim 9, wherein the adjustment circuitsection comprises: a radio frequency front-end channel configured toreceive the sensing signal, the reflected signals, and the communicationsignal, and perform standing-wave detection, signal amplification, andfiltering on the sensing signal, the reflected signals, and thecommunication signal; an adjustment circuit configured to adjustamplitude, a phase, or a delay of the sensing signal, the reflectedsignals, and the communication signal; a frequency conversion circuitconfigured to perform frequency conversion on the sensing signal, thereflected signals, and the communication signal; and a power divisionand combination circuit configured to perform power division on thesensing signal, perform power combination on the reflected signals, andperform power combination or power division on the communication signal.11. The control circuit according to claim 10, wherein the radiofrequency front-end channel, the adjustment circuit, the power divisionand combination circuit, and the frequency conversion circuit aresequentially connected between the sensing screen and the controlcircuit section.
 12. The control circuit according to claim 10, whereinthe radio frequency front-end channel, the adjustment circuit, thefrequency conversion circuit, and the power division and combinationcircuit are sequentially connected between the sensing screen and thecontrol circuit section.
 13. The control circuit according to claim 10,wherein the radio frequency front-end channel, the frequency conversioncircuit, the adjustment circuit, and the power division and combinationcircuit are sequentially connected between the sensing screen and thecontrol circuit section.
 14. A sensing screen apparatus comprising: asensing screen comprising a display screen and an antenna layercomprising multiple antenna units, wherein the multiple antenna unitsinclude at least one first antenna unit configured to transmit a sensingsignal and multiple second antenna units configured to receivereflections of the sensing signal caused by an object touching thedisplay screen; a control apparatus comprising a housing and a controlcircuit disposed in the housing, wherein the control circuit is operablycoupled to the sensing screen; the at least one first antenna unit isconfigured to transmit the sensing signal in a sensing timeslot andtransmit a first communication signal in a communication timeslot; andthe multiple second antenna units are configured to receive reflectedsignals of the sensing signal in the sensing timeslot and receive asecond communication signal in the communication timeslot, wherein oneor more sensing timeslots are inserted in one communication timeslot ina spaced manner or are inserted between two adjacent communicationtimeslots in a spaced manner, wherein the first and second communicationsignals are distinct from the sensing and reflected signals, and whereinthe at least one first antenna unit is selected from among the multipleantenna units based on collected use statistics and powers of reflectedsignals received by the multiple second antenna units.
 15. The sensingscreen apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the sensing screen isconnected to the control circuit using a jumper, or a connector, or aslot disposed on the housing.
 16. The sensing screen apparatus accordingto claim 14, wherein the antenna layer comprises multiple antennafeeders configured to feed the antenna units, each antenna feeder isconnected to one antenna unit, or each antenna feeder is connected tomultiple antenna units, and different antenna feeders are connected todifferent antenna units.
 17. The sensing screen apparatus according toclaim 14, wherein all the antenna units form an antenna array, aradiation direction of an array formed by a part of antenna units in theantenna array is parallel with the display screen, and a radiationdirection of an array formed by the remaining part of antenna units inthe antenna array is perpendicular to the display screen.
 18. Thesensing screen apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the antennaunits are made of one or more of indium tin oxide, fluorine-doped tinoxide, aluminum-doped zinc oxide, and indium-doped zinc oxide.
 19. Thesensing screen apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the antennaunits are low-profile antennas, and the low-profile antennas compriseone or more of a patch antenna, a slot antenna, and a Vivaldi antenna.20. The sensing screen apparatus according to claim 14, including afirst medium layer sandwiched between a connection layer and the antennalayer, wherein the connection layer is sandwiched between the firstmedium layer and the display screen, wherein the connection layercomprises a shield layer and a ground layer, wherein the shield layer isconfigured to shield the antenna layer and return the communicationsignal, the sensing signal, and the reflected signals, and wherein theground layer is configured to ground the antenna layer.